Time To Give Fat Folks A Break

(The New Republic)  Lydia DePillis is a researcher for the New Republic.

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A couple days ago, researchers released a study saying that overweight people had significantly less brain tissue than slim people. The crude takeaway: Fat people get stupid.

As if obese Americans needed any more stigma! Indeed, the debate lately has turned towards making fat people personally responsible for the effects of their excess poundage. And maybe they should be, right? Obesity is tremendously costly from a public health standpoint--to the tune of 147 billion a year. David Leonhardt thinks the obese should pay higher insurance premiums. Airlines are charging more for people who occupy more than one seat. Heck, they're even making the planet warm faster. Shouldn't people feel bad about being huge, if it motivates better behavior?

Well, we also know this: Aggressively stigmatizing fat people is at odds with the love-your-body message meant to guard against eating disorders, as well as predatory weight-loss scams, playground bullying, employment discrimination, and bizarre diet crazes. Pudgy people, with the possible exception of old people, are probably the most disadvantaged demographic in American culture--but unlike with smoking, this negative association hasn't slowed rising obesity statistics.

Besides, science shows that sustainable weight loss is a complicated and ambiguous thing, having more to do with your genetics than your ability to forego that afternoon Krispy Kreme, or even conscientious exercise. Ultimately, this thing is bigger than individuals, and simply charging people for their excess poundage is discriminatory: As Marc Ambinder argued in the epic intra-Atlantic smackdown last month, American urban and agricultural policy has made it easy for poor people to live unhealthy lives, and it's much easier to get and stay thin if you've got the money and time to spend on fresh veggies instead of Fritos. So, what to do?

First, it's time to dial down the rhetoric of personal uplift. Mike Huckabee's before/after photos might be inspiring, and I'm sure we could all learn from President Obama's gym regimen, but "leading by example" seems more likely to discourage people when they don't achieve such tabloid-ready results. Our sociological obesity struggle mirrors the individual's: There is no miracle cure, and anyone promising flat abs in five days is probably a quack. It seems like the best option is not to tell people they should slim down, but make it harder for them to be fat, with boring but commonsense environmental changes that start affecting how kids grow up. You know what works: Walking and biking friendly cities, greater urban density, healthy school lunches, widespread nutritional information, cheaper fresh produce, etc.

It's not revolutionary. These are long-term projects, redressing long-term social trends. But the good news is that it's no wild goose chase-better urban planning, for example, has all sorts of proven benefits besides helping people stay slim. Meanwhile, let's use the "fat people are stupid" meme to propel policy change, rather than as fodder for yo momma jokes.


By Lydia DePillis:
Reprinted with permission from The New Republic.

[queenofclubs]

I wish people would stop making the so-called "war on obesity" into the war on obese PEOPLE! Yes, we know we need to lose weight, but charging double for airline seats, making fun of people, insulting and discriminating against them is NOT going to help anyone get slim. Besides, skinny people aren't perfect and they get sick and diet as well.

[skullaria-2009]

I think the Dugger family, with their 20 and growing, need to pay more insurance premiums.

[troutfishyman]

People should pay health care premiums on a sliding scale, based on their health risk profile (weight, tobacco use, diet, exercise). Financial penalty is a powerful motivational tool. It works with auto insurance.

[lonestartnow]

I agree, there are no magic pills or promises. What there is--personal responsibility, positive behavior change, modest but meaningful choices with respect to nutritional and physical activity options. Yes, there are options and we all make choices.

I disagree that overweight and obesity have more to do with genetics. When did our genes change so that between 66 and 67% of the population is now overweight or obese? What has changed is our lack of physical activity and our readiness to consume too many empty calories. Sort of takes it all back to personal responsibility. Now, let's change it back around.

[jsf14]

So should we stop research on the effects of obesity? Or just keep the results secret? Stigma is saying fat's ugly. But just telling the truth about health effects is just telling the truth.

[mjb89]

Hey, I quit smoking so I could save you guys money on my healthcare. Now I have gained 25 pounds and can't get into my clothes. Which of you is going to buy me a new wardrobe? Or should I start smoking again? Which vice will you accept from me?

[rational_1]

I'm perfectly fine with giving the rotund a break and not hassling them... but (and it's a BIG BUTT - hah hah) if we get a health plan with a public option then my taxes, and yours, will be paying for the bad lifestyle choices of the obese. If the calorically-challenged, like everyone else, have the right to my subsidizing their healthcare with my taxes, then surely I also have the right to try to minimize the amount that I'm paying. So fatties, put down those pork rinds and waddle off to the treadmill - if Obama's public option is enacted you're going to owe me some sweat and caloric restriction.

I do have to say that ddog88 does have a valid point; the obese may save social security, but only if they go quickly (eg., coronary) rather than slowly (eg., diabetes), in which case they would drain a lot of dollars out of the coffers. Maybe Palin's death panels can expand their scope a bit? Just a thought... For the completely humourless of you out there, I am kidding.

[Observer1504]

yep ....... somebody put a .45 to my head and told me to order 2 Big Macks, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, large fries and a diet coke . Suicide by fork is slower.

[mnbrant]

Fat people are the new slave class of the 21st century. I like ddog88's take on things. he is right. Everybody hates me because I am fat including my wife, but I keep shufflin and grinnin and everthing works out in the end.

[ddog88]

Really, fat people cost more? We work until we are 55 and then we have a heart attack and die. Meanwhile all you healthy skinny people retire at 65 and then go on to Florida and rot in an old folks home, draining the social security system. Fat people are just evolution-humans live too long. Hop on board skinny folks. Cheese burger plz!

[skullaria-2009]

My dad was a long term competitive runner. He always ate right and maintained his health compulsively. He's now in his 70's and has been and out of the hospital for years - with atrial fib and complications. I know one of his best friends, another runner, is barely 60 and in the hospital all the time too. My mom was a bit fat, went in the hospital at 62, a week or two after she retired, and died 2 days later. Now really, line them up and my dad has cost a LOT more.